San Martín de los Andes systematizes the programs that will integrate your Local Climate Action Plan

05/04/2019

The municipal mayor,BrunildaRebolledo, signed the accession to the RAMCC (Municipal Argentine Network facing Climate Change) by the beginning of 2017, assuming the commitment to reduce GHG emissions, the objective of which they plan to reach through the establishment of partial goals and an action plan, based on greenhouse gas inventories.

San Martín de los Andes carried out a first inventory with information from 2014 and is currently in the process of finishing the 2016 inventory.

This report allows the identification of the most relevant sectors, and it works as a control tool for the fulfillment of the goals planned in the Climate Action Plan.

In 2014, emissions reached a total of 248,670.45 tCO2eq (tons of carbon dioxide equivalents), the energy sector being responsible for 56.75%, followed by transport with 22% and waste with 18%. The Inventory was made by personnel of the Undersecretariat of Environmental Management during the year 2017.

Local Climate Action Plan is a tool for planning strategies and public policies that must be implemented on a projected time horizon (e.g. 2020-2030), specifying objectives, measures and deadlines. It also determines the instruments necessary to evaluate the general impacts that derive from these actions. The Plan is built by the municipal government, with active citizen participation, which includes all sectors.

TESMA Commission

The Municipality is part of the Permanent Commission for the Energy Transition of San Martín de los Andes, an Ad Hoc consultative advisory body, for the City Council and the Executive Department, in terms of generation and efficient use of energy, established by Ordinance No. 11.767.

It is made up of public institutions, such as EPET 21, INTI; National Parks, the City Council, the Ombudsman, the professional associations of Technicians, Engineers and Architects, EPEN, among others, as well as independent professionals, neighbors and companies from the city.

Among its objectives are to:

1- Elaborate and propose to the Municipal Executive Department rules for the promotion and regulation of electric power generation based on renewable sources, which provide efficient use of energy and sustainable construction, distributed generation and sustainable mobility;

2- Elaborate and propose to the Municipal Executive Department, the adhesion to provincial and national laws on the subject in order to promote sustainable urban development;

3- Promote research and technological development in the field, in coordination with the educational and scientific institutions of the region;

4- Advise public and private institutions in the location on the matter;

5- Promote dissemination and awareness, through training courses, lectures, technical conferences, workshops and other mechanisms of non-formal education about the issues addressed by this Commission;

6- Evaluate, design and propose to the Municipal Executive Department, action plans, implementation projects following the proposed objectives; and

7- Carry out the financing procedures at the provincial, national and/or international level of the projects proposed by the Commission or projects endorsed by it.

Among the actions and projects carried out by the Municipality at present, the following stand out:

• The Greenhouse Gas Inventories (completed in 2014 and 2016;underway in 2018).

• Change of public street lights to LED in several strategic areas of the city:

o Plaza Centenario Square (public-private partnership),

o Plaza San Martín Square and

o Plaza de la Paz Square (Ch. 28) 6 Street Lights

o Replacement of 28 Street lights in Villa Paur

o 34 Street lights on the sidewalk of Kkoessler Ave.

In project:

o 17 500 meters of cycleway lighting .

o 10 st. lights at Plaza el Arenal square.

o 22 st. lights in Faldeos del Chapelco, 1st stage.

o 17 st. lights in San Lorenzo neighborhood .

o 10 st. lights atParque los Robles Square neighborhood.

o 8 st. lights in Trabunco.

Wrapping up your house.

Housing improvements, a key element of Energy Efficiency. In an agreement with the FOVISEE Foundation, more than 100 energy efficiency diagnoses were carried out in different homes in San Martin de los Andes and approximately 50 of them were intervened. The quality of life was improved by reducing some risks (electrical risks, fires due to wood-burner malfunctions, etc.), and the thermal efficiency of the building envelopewas improved, thus achieving energy savings in each home.

Improve your House

Microcredits to improve thermal efficiency. The program has delivered more than 500 microcredits for an amount of $ 7,600,000 pesos for repairs, service installations and expansions, some of which have been designed to improve thermal insulation. A specific line of credit will soon be launched to finance the installation of sustainable equipment (solar heaters, solar panels, home biodigesters, etc.) An agreement was made with 7 local merchants to obtain important discounts (from 15% to 25%) for the beneficiaries of the program, including the purchase of insulating materials.

Household biodigesters.

Pilot project for the installation of 6 home biodigesters that generate biogas and liquid fertilizer from household organic waste. They were installed in 5 homes from different neighborhoods of SMA (San Martín de los Andes) that do not have natural gas, have a vegetable garden and a greenhouse and the family carries out waste separation. In agreement with the EPET 21 (technical school specializing in renewable energies), the process of monitoring this pilot will be carried out and a biodigester will also be delivered for the corresponding tests and experimentation.

COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAM: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND SEPARATION OF RESIDUES in the origin "Separar SIRVe”.

A group of trainers will be formed to carry out the training of the promoters, composed of qualified personnel belonging to the Public Works and Services Secretariat, the Control Agency and the Ministry of Culture and Education. The Municipality will hire a group of ten promoters. A dissemination plan will be implemented in the networks and in local media. The community will be called to participate voluntarily in this work. It will be articulated with local merchants and institutions from various areas.

• SIRVE(Intelligent Neighborhood Residue System).

Performing the household separation we separate the waste between RECOVERABLE and NON-RECOVERABLE, in different containers / bags inside our houses. Thus, by depositing the different waste on the public road on the corresponding days, we allow the differentiated collection to be carried out and its subsequent entry into the Environmental Center where the MSW Separation Plant operates.

Here, the recoverable waste is carefully separated by the Environmental Operators and conditioned for their subsequent sale or recovery.

Projects being made:

First Sustainable Social Neighborhood in San Martin de los Andes: The executive project is being carried out to develop 38 sustainable homes in Ch32, which will have level A or B energy efficiency, and the use of sustainable energy sources, with an architectural design that achieves the highest possible efficiency. Photovoltaic panels will be used with electric meters that have a bidirectional system to achieve distributed generation and to cause the surplus of energy produced to bepassed onto the electricity grid. They will also have solar heaters, with rainwater collection for irrigation and with biodigesters that will produce Biogas.

Support and promotion of the tourism cycle: Certification of SMA as Bikefriendly territory (underway, Ministry of Tourism)

Construction of Public Solar Stations for hot water and electric power.

Survey of change from Public Lighting to LED (Underway; we are currently working with IDB consultants in search of international funds.)